[ESSAY] To Save a Life: Texting While Driving

Five seconds: this is the minimal amount of time spent when looking at a text. A car going 55 miles per hour could travel the length of an entire football field in that time. Almost everyone driving owning a cell phone messages back and forth with friends and it is thought to be a pain to break the line of communication.

I see it constantly while I'm driving, and almost every time the person texting doesn't notice the light change, starts to swerve in to the other lane, or almost hits another car. If the decision to text while driving is too enticing, the phone should be placed out of sight, such as in the glove box. Getting from one place to another in Springfield at most would take 30 minutes. No person should be completely attached to texting that a 30 minute break is unbearable.

Another important point is the fact that texting while behind the wheel does not only affect you. It takes two cars to crash, and injuries could happen to someone other than you. On the road, drivers hold the lives of other drivers and passengers around them. There is no way a random stranger deserves to be hurt or die because another driver yearns to check how many likes a picture or tweet gets.

In Missouri, texting while driving under 21 is against the law, and it is essential to remember the reasons that law was put in place. It is a question of whether sending a message while driving is worth it. Are we really so desperate that we cannot wait to answer back "k,"or send a smiley face emoji?